Thursday, October 21, 2010

If you go to Astoria, bring a hardhat...


From Queens Gazette:

City Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. is calling on Amtrak to immediately implement protective measures during the repair of its train tracks on the Hell Gate Bridge after a growing number of complaints from Astoria residents that debris and rocks falling from the bridge’s roadway have shattered windshields and damaged parked cars.

Amtrak began work last August, prompting a series of complaints from residents who observed falling rocks and damage on cars parked on Shore Boulevard near Ditmars Boulevard and the surrounding streets from 19th Street to Crescent Street. Vallone personally observed two cars with broken windshields parked under the bridge along with a large patch of rocks covering parts of Shore Boulevard.

“People enjoying a beautiful weekend in Astoria Park shouldn’t be unknowingly risking their lives walking under the Hell Gate,” Vallone said. “For this to be happening a second time after I warned them the last time borders on criminal negligence.”

Vallone is demanding the installation of netting around the bridge along with personnel on the local streets while the bridge is repaired.


8 comments:

georgetheatheist said...

Thar he blows, cap'n! Mystery Mike surfaces! (Glub, glub)

Anonymous said...

falling rocks = free publicity. YAY!

Anonymous said...

In Astoria the politically connected can close down streets and put a building 3 inches from your window.

Rocks?

How about real debates in the community about it slipping with its best days behind it?

Anonymous said...

This interview is the first time that I have ever seen Gianaris' face. I thought he was some old guy.

georgetheatheist said...

If it's a Federal agency responsible, how come Maloney's not talking to Mocker?

astorians.com NOT said...

http://www.astorians.com/community/index.php?topic=19639.0

Once again the politicans are MIA, hiding in some corner, while their community gets beat up in Astoria by EDC.

This was all planned years before.

And yet they vote for the same people over and over and over again, even when they have been dead for at least 5 years as in the case of Onorato.

Anonymous said...

astoria is the best! i love the booming sound of helicopters all goddamn day and night. hey crappy, can we start a petition on your site to curb these flyovers? let them fly over the east river to la guardia. i know its important not to inconvience these pricks, but...

Anonymous said...

Amazing that this is the first time in over 35 years that I have seen any work done on this stretch of railroad and it is not even safety netted. These repairs are way over due and you would at least think that there would have been some sort of prior planning for safety. No. Where is Maloney IS RIGHT. If this was the upper west side, these accidents would have never have happened, but she is all for Manhattan and does absolutely nothing for Queens. Exactly why I did not vote for her.

And for someone to shake his head and say "these guys are worse than Con Ed" is totally unacceptable. I'm sorry, Giannaris, try harder when you are being asked a simple question. You sound like typical corporate America managerial incompetence that has infested and neutered our economy. Yeah, blame it on someone else. That's always the best answer.